Impact of Mindfulness program on Academic Stress

Last registered on January 22, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Impact of Mindfulness program on Academic Stress
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0017538
Initial registration date
January 12, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
January 22, 2026, 6:17 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

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Primary Investigator

Name
Nikhil Jha
Affiliation
St Joseph's University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-12-22
End date
2026-05-31
Keywords
Behavior, Education, Health, Welfare
Additional Keywords
Mental Health, Higher Education
JEL code(s)
I21, I23, I12
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This randomized controlled trial examines academic stress levels and coping mechanisms among undergraduate and postgraduate students across Indian universities. It evaluates the short-term efficacy of a brief mindfulness intervention.

Students complete an online questionnaire on stress, socio-demographics, and coping, then randomize to a mindfulness video session or no-intervention control. The outcome of interest is the pre-post changes in stress scores. The experiment is completely online and participation is voluntary. This ensures minimal risk with electronic consent and data encryption.

Preliminary analyses will use intention-to-treat difference-in-differences models to estimate intervention effects, informing scalable wellbeing programs for higher education. Findings address rising mental health challenges in India's student population amid academic pressures.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Jha, Nikhil. 2026. "Impact of Mindfulness program on Academic Stress." AEA RCT Registry. January 22. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17538-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Participants are asked basic demographic information and fill questionnaire related to academic stress and mindfulness. Randomized group view a pre-recorded audio-guided practice. We follow simple protocols like Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). No prior experience required; instructions emphasize gentle attention return without judgment. Post intervention survey after 21 days.
Intervention Start Date
2026-01-05
Intervention End Date
2026-02-28

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Academic stress
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
The primary outcome is academic stress, measured using the Academic Anxiety Scale (AAS; Cassady, 2020). The AAS consists of multiple items assessing perceived academic stressors, each rated on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = "Not at all typical of me"; 4 = "Very typical of me"). The total score is computed as the sum of all item responses, with higher values indicating greater academic stress. Participants complete the AAS immediately before randomization (baseline) and immediately after the intervention/control exposure (post). The treatment effect is estimated as the intention-to-treat difference in pre-post change scores between arms.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Mindful Attention Awareness
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
The trait MAAS is a 15-item scale designed (Brown & Ryan, 2003) to assess a core characteristic of mindfulness, namely, a receptive state of mind in which attention, informed by a sensitive awareness of what is occurring in the present, simply observes what is taking place.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Students complete an online questionnaire on stress, socio-demographics, and coping, then randomize to a mindfulness video session or no-intervention control. The outcome of interest is the pre-post changes in stress scores.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
We implemented server-side automated randomisation.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
10 universities
Sample size: planned number of observations
450
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
150 control, 150 in each treatment arm
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Small to medium size (f=0.22); mde =~3; 15-20%; expect control mean to ~18; sd~8 for continuous measure of stress
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan